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Flying Cars Hop Slightly Closer With FAA Weight Waiver
JimFive writes "For years we've been waiting for the flying car to arrive. The FAA has made an exemption that moves this one step closer to reality. Terrafugia has been granted a weight limit exemption for a 'Roadable Airplane.' Next up is passing the federal highway safety tests."
Years? Anyone? Anyone....? Bueller?
- Moller Skycars: 1962
Try decades.....nearly two generations if you go back to when PM touted them as the next step in the American dream...
What people really want is personal airplanes they can buy for cheap, land anywhere, and manually control, like on the Jetson's, but probably better looking. Would any of you truly feel safe with that kind of thing mass-produced and essentially replacing the automobile? Most people have problems with 2-D control, much less 3-D. Even with multiple levels of safety systems, and a computer programmed to somehow prevent people from doing stupid things, I still don't trust any of you to not fly into my house. Too much can go wrong with flying objects everywhere, especially in the hands of the plebs.
Yes you see I've already got one. The flying, though, isn't the difficult part. It's the landing that's a bitch. Gravity sucks. Quick change of inertia sucks more.
People have enough trouble using their turn signals, safe following distances and I don't know, general road rules? Adding a 3rd dimension and 200mph is asking for chaos. So what we're talking about is a aircraft that fits in a domestic garage and has road-legal extended taxiing ability. It's still a aircraft first. Thankfully.
After logging in slashdot still does not take you back to the page you were on. It's been that way for 20 years.
I was told we would have flying cars in the year 2000. Where are my flying cars damnit!
...a flying fuck.
No, no, you've got it all wrong--it's a flying car. A flying fuck is an entirely different thing and, as anyone who's ever banged a flight attendant can attest, probably almost as much fun. Easier to find and no hangar fees to pay, either.
This ain't rocket surgery.
http://xkcd.com/678/
1500 pounds? Humm, you are going to drive that on the hwy? You are braver then I. I think the Jeep Wrangler weighs twice that. What kind of engine is in a 1500 pound plane, wait I know, what kind of safety cage is in that? Oh, wait I know that too.
6.8SPC TR of 550, l xwind at 6, drift rt at 26" drops 77". AT has 503 ft-lbs at 1403 fps. FT 0.86
We call them helicopters.
Most of you cannot afford one, and will never be able to afford one.
Tough shit for you.
I've got one.
- Clint Eastwood
The Terrafugia does save money on rental cars, but much more importantly, it makes it practical to use small airports where rental cars are difficult or impossible to obtain. On round trips with several days between the outbound and inbound legs, it is difficult or impossible to be sure that the weather will be aceptable for the return flight. With a roadable airplane, if the weather turns bad you just drive home instead of flying.
Wow.
20mm cannons on the roof?
Awesome.
Bring on the flying cars!
You're right, drivers aids in F1 were limited as to make driver participation a part of the sport. Drivers aids in current road automobiles are a reaction to the absolutely horrific driving skills of the average driver, or even worse, the aging driver.
Ocean is land, covered with water.
Light sport aircraft are permitted at major airports in the U.S., including Class B airports. You may be thinking of the modest restrictions on traditional Experimental Category aircraft. Pilots with a sport pilot license must receive additional training and a specific endorsement to fly to/from airports within Class B, C, and D airspace, but there's no restriction on the LSA, assuming it is transponder-equipped.
There have been at lest three flying cars in the past. There was Molt Taylor's Aerocar, one design in the 50's from an organization in Greenville, Texas, and another whose genesis I don't specifically remember. At least the Aerocar (and maybe the others) had FAA certification. Once the technical problems have been surmounted, it always winds up that the cars are using an expensive aircraft engine to drive down the road. The cost of driving goes up fantastically. People say they want a car that can be flown (or an aircraft that can be driven), but when it comes to actually buying it, the cost of operation drives them away rather quickly. The thing that distinguishes this latest effort is that it supposedly will meet the light sport aircraft (LSA) criteria. That would open it up to a much wider range of potential purchasers, since it could be flown with lessened pilot criteria. It's pretty obvious it didn't meet the LSA criteria. The FAA wavier is to allow this thing to be heavier than the LSA rules otherwise allow. I wish these people luck, but history suggests they are investing their development dollars in the wrong place.
Cost of operation should be in the ballpark for a typical aircraft. Granted, that's a lot more than a car, but it's a non-issue here, since this isn't intended to be a car replacement. Despite hype in headlines, this is meant to be used as a roadable aircraft, not a flyable car. No one will be looking to buy one who wasn't already looking at buying an airplane, and will expect it to cost as much as it actually does to operate. They're competing with Cessna, not Toyota, and they have an advantage that will be worth a little extra dough for some people.
"Convictions are more dangerous enemies of truth than lies."
Incorrect:
On the ground, you have limited options to avoid random drivers. But you can STOP, in fact, everyone involved can. Try that in midair.